Hero Factory
|website=http://herofactory.lego.com/ }} Hero Factory (stylized as HERO FACTORY) is a line of toys by the LEGO Group marketed primarily at 6 to 16-year-olds. It was created in response to the decision to discontinue the Bionicle theme in early 2010. Plot Far away in an entirely different galaxy than our own, there lies the surreal and high-tech Makuhero City, home to the Hero Factory, where new robotic heroes are built every day. The factory was created by the wise architect of Makuhero City, Mr. Makuro, with the intention of upholding peace and prosperity throughout the universe, fighting the worst villains and monsters from all over the galaxy. The main story revolves around the Hero Factory Alpha Team and their allied rookie heroes combating evil on several different planets. 2010 - Rise of the Rookies A rogue hero from Stormer's past, Von Ness, who disappeared after abandoning Stormer and leaving his team leader to die, returns to get revenge on his former team member, changing his name to "Von Nebula" in the process, hearkening to his new-found, deadly ability to create black holes. Stormer, his current team mates Bulk and Stringer and three rookie heroes, Furno, Surge and Breez, take on Von Nebula's hired criminals, XPlode, Rotor, Meltdown, Corroder and Thunder in a number of locations across the galaxy, at one point corrupting Stormer, turning him evil against his own will. Furno encourages him to fight the possession until they get back to Hero Factory, where he is given an antidote. The heroes then come into contact with Von Nebula himself through a black hole in New Stellac City, the place where he went rogue a number of years before. Stormer and Furno jump into the black hole to settle a score, leaving the other heroes to take out his thugs once and for all. After a tedious encounter with Von Nebula, Furno uses anti-gravity thruster rings on his and Stormer's boots to repel the black hole, while Stormer uses Von Nebula's black hole orb staff to imprison him. Returning unharmed to their fellow heroes, they discover they have captured the other villains. As they return, the heroes are met with a news reporter covering their mission, and the Alpha Team introduce the new rookie Heroes. 2011 - Ordeal of Fire/Savage Planet When Refueling Depot Tanker Station 22 is attacked, Stormer, Furno, Surge and Breez depart to rescue the civilians and capture the villains behind the assault. When they arrive, they realize that the perpetrators of the destruction are the mysterious "Fire Lord" and his henchmen Drilldozer, Nitroblast and Jetbug, trying to steal the depot's Hero Pod fuel to power themselves. Meanwhile in Makuhero City, Mr. Makuro unveils the first two heroes using Hero Factory's new building system, Nex 2.0 and Evo 2.0, at an official press conference. Back at Tanker Station 22, when trying to take down the villains, the heroes realize their weapons are impenetrable to the their armor, causing them to abandon the attack and focus on rescuing the civilians. Showing no mercy, the villains surround the heroes and civilians, planning to kill them all. However, after feeling useless, Surge decides to sacrifice himself to save the others, destroying some fuel to grasp the cronies' attention. To Fire Lord's command, all 4 villains begin to gun Surge down. Despite this, Stormer still orders the heroes to retreat to their Hero Craft with the civilians, and to return for Surge later. When they reach Hero Factory, Stormer demands the upgrade, and after being denied once by Mr. Makuro is accepted. After the upgrade process is done, they take time to acclimatise to their new bodies and features, then head back to Tanker Station 22. At first they go for a stealthy approach, until Furno misuses his new weapon and gets noticed by Nitroblast. Stormer then attacks Fire Lord himself, knocking him over. In the midst of a long battle, Fire Lord explains to Stormer that the villains have an addiction to power, due to their circuits becoming corrupted, so they cannot stop consuming fuel. Meanwhile, Furno and Breez are fused together by Jetbug's Fuel Supply Ship, unluckily just as Drilldozer begins his attack, while Stormer is about to be dropped into outer space. All seems lost until a Hero Pod carrying Evo and Nex distracts the villains, allowing Stormer to escape, and his fellow heroes to take down Drilldozer. After his minions are defeated, Fire Lord starts to absorb all the fuel from the heart of the station, making himself too powerful to defeat. Fortunately, Surge drives a ship directly towards Fire Lord, surprising and weakening him enough so Stormer can defeat him. In the end, Surge gets the 2.0 upgrade and all of the fire villains are taken into custody and to have their circuits repaired. After completing a mission, new hero Rocka picks up a distress call from Aldous Witch, a professor who had been banished from the Hero Factory. Going against orders, Rocka heads towards the jungle planet Quatros to save Aldous Witch. Upon landing, Rocka is attacked by a group of Fangz, under the control of Aldous, who had transformed into Witch Doctor. Back at the Hero Factory, Stormer, Furno, Bulk, Stringer, and Nex are equipped with new weapons and armor and sent to Quatros to save Rocka. They find Rocka and also learn about Witch Doctor, and his plan to harvest all the quaza from the planet, which will kill it. After giving Rocka his 3.0 armor, the heroes locate an ancient transporter that will take them to a temple where Witch Doctor is loading quaza. The heroes split into 2 teams: Furno, Stringer and Nex, and Rocka, Stormer and Bulk. Furno's team explores the jungle while Rocka's team takes the transportation system to the temple, but are shrunk in the process. While exploring, Furno's team is attacked by a Waspix and a Scorpio. After a quick battle, Furno removes the quaza spikes from Waspix, releasing it from Witch Doctor's power. They then head for the temple, where Rocka and Bulk have been captured by Witch Doctor. At the temple, Furno and Stringer remove a quaza spike from Scorpio, and it attacks Witch Doctor. Witch Doctor turns Raw-Jaw against the Scorpio while his blimp containing all of the planet's quaza starts to lift off. Nex re-powers the transporter, and brings Stormer, Bulk, and Rocka back to normal size. While Stormer attacks Witch Doctor, Furno, Nex and Rocka decide to surprise Witch Doctor. Rocka emerges from the temple in his XL form, and charges. They briefly fight, and as Witch Doctor is about to strike Rocka, Stormer steals his staff and breaks it into pieces. Bulk and Furno get the blimp to fall into the temple, releasing the quaza back into the planet. They leave the planet with Witch Doctor in custody, and the planet heals itself once more. 2012 - Breakout When the seemingly trapped villain Voltix activates Von Nebula's Black Hole Orb Staff, it causes a mass security breach in the prison facility of Hero Factory, allowing all of the captured criminals to escape through the black hole created in the prison. The leader of the breakout is the malevolent Black Phantom, who stays and infiltrates Hero Factory with the intention of destroying it, while all Heroes, apart from Rocka, are sent on missions to re-capture the escaped villains. Stormer is dispatched to apprehend Speeda Demon on planet Kollix IV, Furno is sent to re-capture Jawblade on Scylla, Evo is dispatched to re-capture Toxic Reapa on his home planet, Z'chaya, Surge is sent to apprehend Splitface on the Sigma Sigma Communications Satellite, and Stringer is dispatched to apprehend Voltix on Tansari VI. Once they have apprehended their respective criminals, the five Heroes return to Hero Factory to help Rocka fight against Black Phantom. With Black Phantom aprehended, it is revealed that the whole breakout was a huge distraction, enabling an outside force to steal the plans for Hero Factory. The plot continues in the second wave of sets. Characters Heroes *'Preston Stormer': Leader of Hero Factory's prestigious Alpha 1 Team. Considered by many to be the greatest Hero of the modern age, Stormer has completed several missions in his time as Alpha 1 Team leader. Dedicated and no-nonsense, Stormer has displayed a remarkable sense of loyalty. However, Stormer is secretly shaken by the Von Ness mission, and he feels that he could have done something to prevent his friend from going rogue. Stormer later found out that Von Ness had been transformed into the evil Von Nebula, and was the principal target of Von Nebula's campaign against Hero Factory. Stormer defeated Von Nebula and his henchmen with the aid of William Furno and the other rookies, promoting them afterward to full-fledged heroes. He is armed with an ice blade weapon that can double as a blaster, a sword with a saw and a grappling hook. He was dispatched alongside Surge, Breez and Furno to defend Tanker Station 22 from the Fire Villains, and saw their failure first-hand. He was upgraded to 2.0 with the same system used for Nex and Evo and rearmed with a version of the multi-tool ice shield with a freezing super blade, a tube that connects from his core and two ice spikes. He has recently been upgraded to 3.0 and has now got an animal-controlling helmet, that resembles a rhinoceros head, and dual fold-out blades so he can stop Witch Doctor. In his Breakout form, Stormer will be an XL figure and carry a sword and plasma blaster and will pursue Speeda Demon. He is voiced by John Schneider in the TV series. *'Dunkan Bulk': A member of Hero Factory's prestigious Alpha 1 Team. Bulk is physically the factory's strongest hero. He is armed with a metal sphere shooter with mini-lasers as a 1.0 model. It is unknown what happened to him during the attack on Tanker Station 22, but he got the 2.0 upgrade eventually. Recently, he was upgraded to 3.0 to stop Witch Doctor. Now at 3.0, he has a helmet that resembles a wolf and wrist-mounted blades. In his Breakout form, Bulk has hero-cuffs and a weapon mounted on his shoulder that launches rockets and will apprehend Core Hunter. He is voiced by Christopher B. Duncan in the TV series. *'Jimi Stringer': A member of Hero Factory's prestigious Alpha 1 Team. Stringer is the only Hero who actually enjoys working with rookies. Laid back with an extensive knowledge of sound, Stringer is an experienced musician. He is armed with a sonic weapon that shoots sonic sound blasts, has a smaller sonic weapon with longer range, and a little electric gadget as a 1.0 model. It is unknown what happened to him during the attack on Tanker Station 22, but he got the 2.0 upgrade eventually. Recently, he was upgraded to 3.0 to stop Witch Doctor. In 3.0, he had a helmet that resembled a black bear and a triple-bladed bear claw. In his Breakout form, Stringer carries a Sonic sound blaster and is to "Catch 'N' Cuff" Voltix. He is voiced by Stephen Stanton in the TV series. *'William Furno': William is very loyal to his teammates and, when he was a rookie, fought hard to earn Stormer's respect. When he was first activated, his Hero Core charge exceeded the normal blast. This caused scientists to believe that Furno had a special destiny. Furno can sometimes overexert himself during missions, leaving him physically drained, but he displayed incredible valor during the battles with Von Nebula and was recognized by Stormer as a full-fledged hero. He was armed with a dual-fire shooter that shoots heated coils of plasma and can work like a flame-thrower or a sword, owns his own motorcycle called the Furno Bike with dual plasma shooters, and was dispatched alongside Surge, Breez and Stormer to defend Tanker Station 22 from the fire villains. He too was upgraded to 2.0 and rearmed with his own version of the multi-tool ice shield with rotating climbing hooks and ice power-up. Recently, he was upgraded to 3.0 to stop Witch Doctor. At 3.0, he had a plasma bow and a helmet that resembled an eagle. In his Breakout form, he has an plasma blaster modified for being underwater, Hero-Cuffs, and aqua jets on his back for speed. He is assigned to stop Jawblade. He is voiced by Eric Christian Olsen in the TV series. *'Natalie Breez': The only female member of the Alpha 1 Team, Breez is extremely agile and a skilled diplomat. She has an ability to talk with 180,000 species of wild animals such as the Tratix reptoid. Breez is very determined and always ready for any mission, no matter how difficult. She was once a rookie but showed wisdom and maturity during the battles with Von Nebula and was recognized by Stormer as a full-fledged hero. In 2010, she was armed with energized, laser-shooting boomerangs that are attached to harpoons, and was dispatched alongside Furno, Surge and Stormer to defend Tanker Station 22 from the fire villains. She was also upgraded to 2.0 with advanced multi-tool blades with a saw blaster and grappling hook, plus a cloaking device. In her Breakout form, she has hero-cuffs, a plasma blaster, a Hex energy shield, ankle-mounted boosters, and a double-bladed sabre. She is assigned to hunt down Thornraxx. She is voiced by Jean Louisa Kelly in the TV series. *'Mark Surge': Competitive and clumsy, Mark has a hot-tempered personality. However, he secretly believes that he was built with a flaw that will make him one day turn evil. He was once a rookie but gained valuable experience during the battles with Von Nebula and was recognized by Stormer as a full-fledged hero. He was armed with twin lightning shooters and shields, and was dispatched alongside Furno, Breez and Stormer to defend Tanker Station 22 from the Fire Villains. In the battle of Tanker Station 22, he was reported missing but found later by Alpha 1 Team. He was upgraded to 2.0 and rearmed with an ice spear shooter that has a climbing hook and a grappler. In his Breakout form, he has a plasma blaster, electricity shooter, and hero-cuffs. He is assigned to capture Splitface. He is voiced by Bryton James in the TV series. *'Nathan Evo': One of the first heroes constructed using the factory's upgraded 2.0 system. Calm and collected, Evo drops into a meditative state between battles. He was armed with a multi-tool ice shield featuring a double-barrel ice cannon with dual ice spears, and serves as a tech and medic, constructing and repairing weaponry and keeping his comrades healthy while out in the field. In his breakout form, he is equipped with hero-cuffs and a heavily armored "tank arm" with a plasma blaster on the end. He is instructed to arrest Toxic Reapa. He was voiced by Tom Kenny in the TV series but was replaced by Jason London from "Breakout - Part One" onwards. *'Julius Nex': One of the first Heroes constructed using the factory's upgraded 2.0 system. He also has a crush on Breez. Enthusiastic and exuberant, Nex is in charge of Hero Factory's outreach program, communicating directly with the general public through services such as social networking sites. He carries a multi-tool ice shield featuring an enhanced ice power-up, cutting blades, and is a all-around "tech-savvy" guy. He acts as a heavy-duty fighter and communications expert. He has been recently upgraded with the new 3.0 system and now has a helmet that resembles a Smilodon for warding off animals and a double-bladed tiger claw. With all this new equipment, he and the rest of the Alpha 1 Team have traveled to Quatros to stop Witch Doctor. In his Breakout form, Nex is armed with hero-cuffs, a plasma blaster, and a precision laser cutter. He is voiced by Jason Canning in the TV series. *'Daniel Rocka': The latest member of the Alpha 1 Team. He was at first a 2.0 Hero and he later got the new 3.0 system. He has gold and black armor and a white hero core. Rocka carries a large multifunctional double claw combo tool on his right hand. Rocka also has a helmet which resembles a lion head, which he uses to ward off attacking animals. He was sent to assist Aldous Witch in a small operation on Quatros, but, when he found that Aldous had turned into the evil Witch Doctor, he called for backup from the Alpha 1 Team to stop him. On Quatros, he was given an "XL" form in order to defeat Witch Doctor. In his Breakout form, Rocka wields a plasma crossbow, an energy shield and hero-cuffs. He selected by the Hero Recon Team to apprehend Black Phantom. The credits of the "Savage Planet" movie identify him as "Daniel Rocka", but it was confirmed as non-canon by Kelly McKiernan of the official Lego Hero Factory story team. He is voiced by Tom Kenny in the TV series. *'Merrick Fortis': The head of Hero Recon Team, armed with a projectile weapon called "Good Old Trustworthy" and a claw. He is armored with a two-toned carbon chest plate, and more recently, a 3.0 upgrade and a pair of wings. Villains *'Von Nebula': Once a rookie from Hero Factory named Von Ness who worked with Stormer (when he was also a rookie) and team leader Thresher, he deserted in the middle of a mission and, blaming Stormer for his own failings, became a villain of pure evil. He carries a Black hole Staff and has vicious spiky armor. Overall, Von Nebula wants nothing more than the destruction of Hero Factory and Preston Stormer. He was eventually trapped in his black hole staff when it was used against him - but was later freed from it by Voltix moments before the mass breakout. He was then given stolen Hero Factory documents from Black Phantom, which he apparently has a plan for. He is voiced by Mark Hamill. *'Rotor': Servant of Von Nebula. Rotor is one of Von Nebula's most dangerous minions, and a twisted, sycophantic lackey of XPlode. He, like the rest of Von Nebula's minions, is wanted for numerous crimes across the galaxy. Capable of incredible speeds and mobility using his jet pack, Rotor can use his highly dangerous biohazard gas attack from any direction. The "whoosh-whoosh" sound of his rotors might just be the last sound an enemy will ever hear. He was finally captured by Furno, Stormer, Breez and Surge on the planetoid of Lemus 2 at an explosives plant, but later escaped during the mass breakout caused by Black Phantom. He is voiced by Joel Swetow. *'XPlode': Servant of Von Nebula. One of Von Nebula's most feared servants, XPlode has a bad temper and is covered in explosive spikes, which he launches at partially anything or anyone. He is a short-fused renegade that cannot be reasoned with due him being very impatient. He accepts jobs only when they appear to present a significant challenge, since he already has enough. He was finally captured by the Alpha 1 Team in New Stellac City, but later escaped when fellow prison inmate Black Phantom organized a mass breakout. He is shown at the end of the Breakout episode being escorted back in cuffs. He is voiced by Jeff Glen Bennett. *'Corroder': Servant of Von Nebula. One of Von Nebula's newest henchmen, Corroder is lethal in close combat. His razor sharp claws and corrosive acid can cause major damage. His horn is his favorite weapon. He is the only member of Von Nebula's gang who might challenge his boss one day, for he likes to be the leader, instead of following orders from someone such as Von Nebula. He was finally captured by the Alpha 1 Team in New Stellac City, but later escaped when fellow prison inmate Black Phantom organized a mass breakout. He is voiced by Charlie Adler. *'Meltdown': Servant of Von Nebula. Von Nebula's most destructive and vicious servant, dabbling in in radioactive materials. Completely insane, he is armed with a radioactive sludge shooter which can cause anyone to become evil thanks to nanobots within the blast, and a meteor blaster. His enemies should avoid his cyclops stare at all costs. He was finally captured by the Alpha 1 Team in New Stellac City, but later escaped when fellow prison inmate Black Phantom organised a mass breakout. He is voiced by Joel Swetow. *'Thunder': The toughest servant of Von Nebula. He isn't really the smartest being around, but he is considered heavily armed and highly dangerous. He has a Meteor Blaster and a massive crush claw. He also has the ability to twist his body into a ball and bowl over his adversaries. He was finally captured by the Alpha 1 Team in New Stellac City, but later escaped when fellow prison inmate Black Phantom organised a mass breakout. He is voiced by Fred Tatasciore. *'Vapour': Servant of Von Nebula. Resembling a smaller, blue version of Rotor, Vapour has dual tube-fed weapons that shoots corrosive vapour. He is well known for battling Bulk after the defeat of Von Nebula. During that battle, Bulk defeated and captured Vapour, but he has escaped because of the mass breakout caused by Black Phantom. *'Fire Lord': Leader of the fire villains. He and his minions were once a group of simple mining robots, mining and constructing on the mining planet of Tallos 5 where he had met Stormer before (however, now Stormer does not remember meeting him), but an upgrade to ease recharging ended up with them absorbing enough power to damage their circuits and drive them all insane. Fire Lord's literal thirst for power has driven him and his minions to find more powerful sources of energy. They were then trying to steal hero-pod fuel to power their weapons and themselves (especially Fire Lord himself) at Tanker Station 22. He was taken into custody to be helped by Hero Factory, but was eventually thrown into prison after the treatment proved ineffective, and later escaped with his minions when fellow inmate Black Phantom organised a mass breakout. He has a lava sphere shooter and a lava flame thrower. His lava armor is nearly impossible to penetrate. He is voiced by Dee Bradley Baker. *'Drilldozer': Member of the fire villains. The strongest of Fire Lord's minions but not the smartest (though he is smarter than Thunder). His main weapon is his multi-tooth turbine-powered drill. He also has armor plating, red-hot molten spikes, razor-sharp claws and a lava sphere shooter. He lacks agility and is rather slow-moving. He was under treatment by Hero Factory to repair the damage done on him from absorbing excessive amounts of energy, but was eventually thrown into prison after the treatment failed, and later escaped when fellow inmate Black Phantom organized a mass-breakout. He is voiced by Fred Tatasciore. *'Jetbug': Member of the fire villains. He can fly using his powerful back-mounted jet engines that can reach incredible speeds. One of his most feared weapons are his razor-sharp pincers. He is constantly giggling and regarded as highly insane, though according to Stormer, he was, like the other Fire Villains, not always like this. He was under treatment by Hero Factory to repair the damage done on him from absorbing excessive amounts of energy, but was thrown into prison when the treatment proved ineffective, and later escaped when fellow inmate Black Phantom organised a mass breakout. He is voiced by Tom Kenny. *'Nitroblast': Member of the fire villains. With his plasma blowtorch and lava sphere shooter, he can access any security system and can crack many safes. His flaming shell protects him from almost any attack. He is the craftiest of Fire Lord's henchman. He is a sycophant who constantly fawns over Fire Lord. He was under treatment by Hero Factory to repair the damage done on him from absorbing excessive amounts of energy, but was thrown into prison when the treatment failed, and later escaped when fellow inmate Black Phantom organised a mass breakout. He is voiced by Stephen Stanton. *'Witch Doctor': An insane 'bot who was once a mild-mannered professor named Aldous Witch teaching rookies at Hero Factory. Witch's desire of Quaza went out of control as he tried to install one in his body at the Quaza chamber. However, Stormer discovered this and stops Aldous' plan. Since Aldous Witch has been working in the Hero Factory for 10 years, he was exiled rather than having himself imprisoned. He traveled to the protected jungle planet of Quatros (one of the last reserves of natural quaza) and started illegally mining for Quaza. During his excavation, he discovered a stone skull hidden in an ancient temple built by an extinct race that worshiped the Quaza. When he added a sliver of Quaza, it did not just give him great powers, it also transformed him into an enormous villain. He then started to control the local wildlife of Quatros (that wildlife being the wasp-like Waspix, the canine-like Fangz, the scorpion-like Scorpio and the gorilla-elephant-like Raw-Jaw) with corrupted Quaza Spikes to do his bidding. Consequently, the more Quaza that was taken from the planet (as it was alive, supported by the Quaza), the weaker Quatros would get, and would eventually fall apart. He carries a mighty skull staff with skeletal energy powers and a clawed launcher weapon. He was eventually stopped and captured by Hero Factory when Stormer broke his staff and destroyed his power. He later escaped prison when fellow inmate Black Phantom organized a mass breakout. Witch Doctor is voiced by Fred Tatasciore. *'Black Phantom': A malevolent villain hired by Von Nebula who broke into Hero Factory after the other villains broke out. Black Phantom recently arranged a mass breakout which resulted in the escape of a great number of inmates, if not all of them (which was part of Von Nebula's plan). He keeps a pet drone named Arachnix that can multiply very quickly. It is noted that he has a heavy French accent and usually has a lisp. He also possesses a substance within him called Anti-Quaza (which presumably has the same effect on Quaza as Anti-matter has on Matter; mutual annihilation). He almost succeeds in destroying Hero Factory after transmitting its plans to his employer, but is arrested by Rocka with the help of the other heroes. In the TV episode he is voiced by Mark Hamill. *'Toxic Reapa': A crazed scoundrel from the jungle planet Z'chaya, Toxic Reapa was captured by Hero Factory an unspecified amount of time ago, but managed to escape when fellow inmate Black Phantom organized a mass breakout. Toxic Reapa has two toxic jets, one on each arm. When he returned home, he went in search for cocoons of his species which Evo found first. He planned for them to be his army to attack other planets, but he was arrested again before that happened. In the Breakout episode, he has a lisp and is voiced by Nick Jameson. *'Jawblade': A vicious shark creature from the water planet Scylla, Jawblade was captured by Hero Factory for stealing Furno's Dual Fire Shooter and modifying it into his own personal weapons, magma blades, an unspecified amount of time ago, but managed to escape when fellow inmate Black Phantom organized a mass breakout. He planned to use a supply of oxidiom, a natural rusting agent, to defeat any hero that challenged him, but was arrested again before he could do so. He is voiced by Steve Wilcox. *'Splitface': A villainous miscreant, Splitface was captured by Hero Factory an unspecified amount of time ago, but managed to escape when fellow inmate Black Phantom organized a mass breakout. He has a split appearance and personality, with an organic side and a mechanical side. The mechanical side uses a pair of shredding claws, while his organic side uses a precision laser and a plasma gun that shoots infecticide. He planned to crash a meteorite into a shielded satellite to attack any planet unsuspected by them. Fortunately, he was arrested again by Surge. He is voiced by Maurice LaMarche. *'Thornraxx': A venomous insect from Hive Planet, Thornraxx was captured by Hero Factory an unspecified amount of time ago, but managed to escape when fellow inmate Black Phantom organized a mass breakout. Thornraxx has a venom shooter, razor claws and a stinger on his tail that he has implanted with a corrupted Quaza spike. *'Core Hunter': A vicious and very intelligent black and red villain with razor-spike armor, a hero core remover, a multi-vision mask and a plasma shooter (stolen from one of his victims). He hunts the quaza cores of heroes, and adds them to his collection (making him the robot equivalent of a trophy hunter or a serial killer). Unlike most villains, Core Hunter stayed in Makuhero City during the breakout to collect more cores. *'XT4': A yellow, four-armed villain that looks a little like Meltdown (in that he has an elongated head, a single red eye and is likely insane). He has two striking blades, a laser slicer, and a razor disc slicer. When he escapes in the Breakout, he goes back to his home planet, Mechna. *'Voltix': A very colorful villain that uses electricity as a weapon. He has a volt blaster and lightning whip. Voltix escapes to Tansari VI during the Breakout. He is in the Doom Box toyline. In the episode "Breakout", he helped Von Nebula escaped by carrying an embodiment of his spirit and releasing it at the right moment to break the black hole staff, which in turn created a black hole, causing the villains to escape. When he was on Tansari 6, he planned to create the ultimate electric weapon, but was arrested again by Stringer. He is voiced by Rick D. Wasserman. *'Speeda Demon': A villain in the second wave of the Breakout series. He is green in color, has four arms, and rides on a purple motorcycle called the "Nitro-rocket motorbike". After the Breakout, he travels to the ice planet Kollix 4, with plans to destroy a navigation beacon at the planet's north pole. With that destroyed, spacecraft pilots won't know where to go in the galaxy, and Speeda Demon can rob them of their supplies. Luckily, after a long and difficult chase across Kollix 4's dangerous ice fields, he is arrested again by Stormer. He is voiced by Charlie Adler. Set information The first Hero Factory sets were released on July 3, 2010 in the United Kingdom with the remaining five sets being released on July 4, 12, and 24. All original fifteen sets were released in the United States on July 24, 2010. Within the 15 sets released there are six hero characters, six villain characters, two vehicle, and a hero and villain limited edition set. The six hero sets are packaged in cylindrical canisters and contain around 17 to 19 pieces. The hero sets have an age rating of 6–16 and are around 15 cm (6") tall. The villain sets are packaged in rectangular boxes and contain 40 to 50 pieces. The exception is the Von Nebula and Rotor sets which have 156 and 145 pieces respectively and are packaged in a larger box. All the villain sets have an age rating of 7–16 and are around 17 cm (7") tall besides Von Nebula who is around 22 cm (9") tall and has an age rating of 9–16 and Rotor who is around 20 cm (8") and has an age rating of 8–16. The two vehicle sets are Furno Bike and Drop Ship. The Furno Bike set includes 165 pieces and has an age rating of 8–16. It contains a 30 cm (12") long motor bike and the hero character William Furno. The Drop Ship contains 390 pieces and has an age rating of 9–16. It contains a 43 cm (17") Drop Ship and a Hero Factory Pilot. The Duncan Bulk and Vapour set contains 89 pieces and has an age rating of 8–16. It includes the hero Duncan Bulk, and the villain Vapour, with both figures being around 15 cm (6") tall. In December 2010 ten new sets were released. The sets included six hero sets and four villain sets. The hero sets contain around 30 pieces, have an age rating of 6–16, and are around 17 cm (7") tall. The heroes sets are in rebuilt forms also known as 2.0 form and include Stormer 2.0, Furno 2.0, Breez 2.0, Surge 2.0, Evo 2.0 and Nex 2.0. The four villain sets form the Fire Villain storyline. Three of the villain sets - Drilldozer, Jetbug, and Nitroblast, contain around 60 pieces, have an age rating of 7–16, and are around 21 cm (8"). The exception is the set Fire Lord which contains 125 pieces, stands around 26 cm (10"), and has an age rating of 9–16. Adaptations Comics and Books In July 2010 Lego Group and DC Comics released the first Lego Hero Factory comic on the Hero Factory website only. Entitled The Trials of Furno, it was released for free download at Lego.com, and follows the story of the rookie hero William Furno on his first mission, to battle against Xplode and Rotor. A second issue, entitled Core Crisis was released in September 2010. In 2012, a new series of books tied in with the Hero Factory story and toyline began being released, written by Bionicle writer Greg Farshtey. So far, one DK Reader-level 3 book has been released and four have been announced for Semtember (The Doom Box) and October (Legion of Darkess) 2012, then in January and March 2013. They will be published by Scholastic. Animated television series Starting in 2010, a Hero Factory television mini-series was produced by Threshold Animation Studios, directed by Mark Baldo and written by Sean Catherine Derek (who both worked on Bionicle: The Legend Reborn). It consisted of four 20-minute episodes called "Trials of Furno", "Core Crisis", "The Enemy Within", and "Von Nebula" that began airing in Denmark and Norway on August 29, 2010 on Cartoon Network . It broadcasted in English language regions between September 20 and 23, 2010 on Nicktoons. More episodes followed; "Ordeal of Fire" and "Savage Planet" (Parts One and Two) in 2011, and "Breakout" (Parts One and Two) in 2012. It has been reported that an episode titled "The Doom Box", rumored to be a second half to the "Breakout" storyline , is set for a September 2012 broadcast, while two new stories "Von Nubula Rises" (Parts One and Two) and "Anti-Hero Factory" (Parts One and Two) are scheduled for a 2013 broadcast.http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1728863/episodes?year=2013 On November 22 2010, the first four episodes of the series were released as a direct-to-DVD film entitled Hero Factory: Rise of the Rookies. It was released in Region 2 on October 21 2011. On October 4 2011, a second direct-to-DVD film was released (titled Hero Factory: Savage Planet), containing the "Ordeal of Fire" and "Savage Planet" episodes, with the Region 2 release coming in 5 November 2012. It is unknown if or when the 2012 episodes will be released on DVD. Live-action film Universal Studios are currently working to acquire the rights to create a live-action movie adaption of Hero Factory. It has been revealed that Micheal Fitch and Alex Litvak, the writers of Predators, are to write a screenplay for the movie. Reception Toybuzz stated that the simplicity of the Hero sets were great for people who like the actual playing experience, but not so good for Lego fans who prefer the enjoyment of the build. Toybuzz praised the sturdyness of the figures and wrote that "the best feature was that the weapons were actually one of their arms", as you do not have to spend time on putting the weapon back on. Toybuzz also praised the packaging that the Hero sets come with, stating that the plastic tubes are great for organization and for keeping the sets tidy. References External links *LEGO: Hero Factory products *Nicktoons: Hero Factory: Four Night Mini-Series *HEROsector01, An external wiki Category:Lego themes Category:2010s toys